Ravens' first draft pick set to begin head-coaching career

University of Hartford Release

RINDGE, N.H. (June 2, 2011) – Franklin Pierce University baseball alum Justin Blood '04 has been named as the 14th Head Baseball Coach at the University of Hartford, a Division I member of the America East Conference, as announced Tuesday. It will be the first head-coaching job for Blood, who has been with the University of Connecticut since 2006, most recently as the Associate Head Coach and Recruiting Coordinator.

Blood inherits a Hartford program in need of a turnaround, as the program is coming off of a 6-43-1 campaign in 2011 and has reached 15 wins just three times in the last nine years. The Hawks have not tallied 20 wins since 1994, which is also the last time the team qualified for postseason play, in the North Atlantic Conference Tournament. Nonetheless, Blood is undaunted by the task at hand.

"I'm looking forward to starting the process of building the Hartford baseball program into a consistent winner," Blood said in the hartfordhawks.com announcement of his hiring. "We will recruit and develop the players necessary to compete for America East Championships. This is an exciting time for past, present and future Hawks."

In his six seasons with the Huskies, Blood helped return the program to regional prominence and national relevancy, as the team claimed its second NCAA Championship berth in as many years in 2011. The 2010 berth was the first time the program qualified for NCAA play since 1994, while this season's squad captured the Big East Conference regular season championship, the program's first. Blood will take over at Hartford following the conclusion of the Huskies' postseason run.

Since Blood arrived in Storrs, the Huskies have had 16 players drafted, including a school-record six in 2009. Of those 16 players, 11 came from Blood's pitching staff. A pair of juniors on this season's Connecticut club, outfielder George Springer and right-hander Matt Barnes, were ranked 11th and 13th, respectively in the recent Baseball America Draft Top 200. Both are semifinalists for the Golden Spikes Award as the country's top amateur baseball player. Either would be the first Connecticut player to win the award.

The first Franklin Pierce baseball player ever taken in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, Blood was taken in the ninth round (279) of the 2004 Draft by the Seattle Mariners and went on to pitch in 82 Minor League Baseball games as a reliever, compiling a 7-4 record and a 3.97 earned-run average with 133 strikeouts over 99.2 innings. He spent the better part of two seasons in the Class-A Advanced California League before retiring after the 2003 season.

Blood is still tied for fourth in Franklin Pierce history in strikeouts (235) and ranks seventh in innings pitched (204.2). He was the first of seven Ravens, all in the last 12 years, to capture conference Pitcher of the Year honors when he picked up the award from the old New England Collegiate Conference in 2000. The 2000 club was the first team in program history to finish above .500, laying the foundation for the regional dynasty which would form over the ensuing decade.

"It is nice to see the success that Justin has had at UConn and, now, to see him at the reins of his own program," said Franklin Pierce Head Baseball Coach, Jayson King. "I am very proud of what he has accomplished at UConn and look forward to his future successes at the University of Hartford."

Following his minor league career, Blood spent 2003 as an Assistant Coach under Quinnipiac University Hall of Fame coach Dan Gooley, who also happens to be the winningest coach (by winning percentage) in Hartford's program history. In 2004, Blood returned to Rindge to serve as an assistant under King and finish his degree before finding a job on Jim Penders' staff at Connecticut. Blood also spent the summer of 2005 as Pitching Coach for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in the Cape Cod Baseball League.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics).